"Give our nurses a fair deal now - for the good of their patients and the NHS"

As 100,000 nurses prepare to quit their pay and conditions, Health Secretary Steve Barclay must continue his work and negotiate with the Royal College of Nursing to protect patient safety

With thousands of nursing vacancies unfilled, NHS staff are at breaking point (

Image: Getty Images)

Unless Health Secretary Steve Barclay gets his act together, 100,000 nurses will quit the jobs they love in just 11 days.

We urge Mr Barclay to get to the negotiating table with the Royal College of Nursing to find a deal that will avoid this strike - and also to recognize that it's not just about paying.

Eight out of ten nurses say patient safety is at risk due to low staffing levels.

RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen blames years of Conservative investment in the profession for the crisis it currently faces.

Only two out of five nursing teams have the required staff, while vacancies have reached a record 48,000. Nurses are simply stretched thin.

The nursing profession is in crisis after years of understaffing (

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Not only have their salaries been cut by 20% in real terms since 2010, but they now watch helplessly as their patients suffer due to understaffing.

Less than one in five said they had time to provide the level of care patients need and nurses want to give them.

A strike means the seven million patients on hospital waiting lists will have to wait even longer.

Mr. Barclay must urgently find additional staff to reduce this queue and provide a living wage for all NHS staff.

Because it is now the NHS itself that needs intensive care.